Where Does This Leave Pinterest

As I mentioned, Instagram is pretty easy to use and it's not one of those networks that you need to invest a lot of time in order to get engagement. But keep in mind that Pinterest is still relevant when it comes to driving traffic and brands on Pinterest are really using it to sell products. So keep things in perspective. Also there is one major limitation of Instagram in that you can't link back to your blog in any of your posts descriptions. My theory is that this is the reason there is so much engagement on Instagram. Liking and commenting hold more value than they do on other networks, simply because it's the only action most people can take. Where as on Pinterest, people might not “engage” with your content on the platform, yet that doesn't mean they aren't visiting your site. Check your stats and you'll see what I mean.

Additional Instagram Resources

In this tutorial, I introduced you to the importance of using Instagram and hopefully you feel confident enough to set up your profile and get started with a hashtag strategy. There is one word of caution that I'd like to share. Please avoid using any auto-following or automated commenting tools on Instagram. There are a ton of horror stories out there from people who get their accounts shut down after using services like this. Instagram is very protective of their API and they don't allow these tools to integrate with their service.

Here are some resources I recommend you check out if you want additional training:

I don't want you to suffer from social media overload, but at the very least I wanted to give you a quick introduction to Instagram so you can see what it's like and get started with using it. Instagram also allows you to post 15 second video clips which are even more popular and engaging than images. Keep in mind that Facebook owns Instagram so there is no telling how the platform will evolve in the coming months and years ahead.

I love to use the short clips as a teaser for my YouTube videos. See if this one gets your attention and makes you want to watch to find out more:

First let's go over a few of the limitations of Instagram and I wanna make these things clear from the start before you start trying to compare Instagram to other social networks.

Number one is that it's really a Smartphone based application.

You can do some limited things on your desktop – which I'll show you in a minute – but primarily you should be using your mobile device to navigate Instagram. The other thing is that you have a 150 characters for your bio and you can add a link. And treasure that link, make that the best link that you can possibly come up with – You can always change it to fit the occasion – but on Instagram that's the only place you can put a link. You can't link to anything in the descriptions of any of your Instagrams.

Now that you know the limitations let's move on.

What Instagram lacks in the use a hyperlinks it makes up for in the use of HASHTAGS!! The beauty of Instagram is that you're allowed up to 30 #hashtags on any of your posts.This is really important because that's how people are going to find you – when they do searches for hashtags.

Don't be afraid to use hashtags you'll see that even the biggest brands on Instagram, for example RedBull – they post this gorgeous picture and they've got 4 hashtags right in their description. So if Red Bull can use hashtags – trust me you can do it too!

So let's find out where to get the hashtags that we need to attract people that we want on Instagram. You wanna check out a site called Tags for Likes. That's gonna show you all of the popular tags, its gonna allow you to search for tags, to see what kinda followers are using the tags that you want to use so it's important to have a hashtag strategy and Tags for Likes is a place to start.

Another site you can use to keep track of your Instagram followers and of the things that you've liked on Instagram and so forth is called IconoSquare. It will show you who's following you, you can also check on who's been liking your posts on Instagram but this way you can do it from your desktop. Of course no matter what kind of phone you have, in my case I have an Android, you can just go over to Google Play Store and search through tons of apps for Instagram.

A couple of my favorites are the No Crop which will allow you to make your images square before you post them, also you can and frames to pretty up some of your photos. And then there's the REPOST which is sort of like a RETWEET that you would do on Twitter, only you would we repost something that you’ve liked.

There's just so many apps and you're going to find that most of them are free. You know go over have some fun with Instagram. You want to try to build your following now, like I said the early adopters – you're gonna get the leg up on everybody else. Don't miss the boat when it comes to Instagram!

So that's your introduction to Instagram be sure to follow me you can always find me @Ileane and be sure to subscribe to this channel so you can keep up with all the happenings in Social Media, Blogging, YouTube, Podcasting…

I'm a blogger, podcaster, YouTuber and social media diva (or Social Media Veteran if you like the way that sounds better). True story: I started blogging by accident when I actually thought I was "subscribing" to my daughter Nicole's first blog. Since then I'm committed to helping others avoid all the mistakes I've made along the way. Get one-on-one coaching and exclusive perks when you join my community on Patreon!

Comments

Great Instagram tips here Ileane – it’s unbelievable how huge IG has grown. I’ve been doing quite a lot of experimenting with it in terms of marketing. Do you know about shoutouts? Some people have grown their followings to over 100K doing shoutouts. It’s crazy.

Great question Bill. I never use all 30 hashtags simply because I find that using about 10 – 15 makes more sense. Using more hashtags do get you more exposure but many times you might find that you run out of ideas for really relevant hashtags when you get beyond 20. Hope that helps!

Surprising to know how Instagram is coming up in such a big way – perhaps leaving Pinterest behind, which as a tis was addictive enough to have another one like it, though different in many ways. Yes, I agree with you about the driving traffic part, which Pinterest does, unlike Instagram – yet people are so hooked to it. 🙂

You inspired me, Ileane to create an account, which I shall do soon after and would of course be adding you. Never crossed my mind to create one earlier as I hardly use my mobile, though all the more reason to do so, or perhaps retweet lovely posts like these.

Hi Harleena!
I resisted purchasing a SmartPhone for a long time but I had to give in when I lost my old flip phone last summer. Now that I have the Samsung Galaxy S4 I absolutely love it. But I admit that my two favorite apps are Instagram and Google Play. I use Google Play to keep up with my podcast listening.

“Liking and commenting hold more value than they do on other networks, simply because it’s the only action most people can take.”

This one works in Instagram. You can see how engage your readers or followers by looking at the numbers of like and comments in your post. While Pinterest is different. Hashtag is very, very useful tool in any social media platform, especially in Instagram and Twitter. Having more hashtags that are relevant to your post will help you reach the right audience. More visibility, I must say!

Your post has been shared on Kingged, IM social bookmarking site, enabling me to find this good piece.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Instagram over the last few weeks. While I love Pinterest and get a fair amount of traffic from it, I’ve been considering other social networks as FB seems to be becoming ever less effective.

Sadly, I didn’t know where to start so it’s great to not only have your guidance above but also all those juicy resource links that I’m off to read now. Thanks Ileane 🙂

For the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about using Instagram for other than personal purposes. It seems I was right in thinking that IG can help me direct more traffic to my website. 🙂 I’m still deliberating on which hashtags to use. Do you think it’ll be better to use a hashtag that’s already popular along with a hashtag I’m creating specifically for my website?

We always use Instagram and Pinterest as part of our client’s marketing. We have seen enormous growth in this platform over the last year – it says a lot about what people like to look at, or read, and a reminder that your marketing should be aimed along different avenues.

I’m sure your clients are pleased with the value you are offering them. Do you have any special tools that you use to post or monitor their Instagram accounts? I’m curious to know if you are using Schedugram – ever heard of it?

I don’t have an instagram account as of now and I really didn’t think to get one, because I was considering it as a time pass but after reading this post I believe that I should sign up for it. Thanks 🙂

I never considered having an instagram account. I do love taking photos and in the last few years, most of the photos I have taken is primarily using my DSLR camera. There is also a Facebook page for my photography. I rarely take photos on my phone and tablet. Now I do want to get myself a Instagram account. Have had it on my mind of sometime now and will dive into it once I figure out what kind of photos I can post there some that there is no conflict with my photography page.

Wow wonderful instagram tips, I always wanted to start an instagram account. Instagram is one of the busiest social media network. These clean tips helps to drive and improve visitor count on the blog .Thanks mam for sharing this with us 🙂

very informative articel Ileane . before reading this article i thought that Instagram is only for uploading image and videos, i planned to close the Instagram, but now i try to promote your online business.Thank you for posting this article.

Hello there,
I have never used Instagram and this post provide me the step to adopt this social media website for the promotion of the business. I will use this platform and if I got any hurdle so I will ask you for that. Thanks for the post.

Indeed, marketers should be where their audience is. And whereas most users enjoy the intuitive design of Pinterest and Instagram, marketers may find your advice valuable. Some of these never occured to me.

It’s so awesome to know that Instagram can be really helpful to us. After reading through this post, I was thinking – how did I not use this service before while having a smartphone for years.
Thanks for the awesome post, also, your video is pretty cool. 🙂

not the biggest fan of Instagram myself, but I believe it is quite useful for following up with people’s content. Frankly services nowadays are so incrementally close to each other that there is little to no advantage from one service to another.

Hello Mam,
Thank you for such an informative write up. I have been using Instagram since 2 years and I find it more inviting and better to use than any other social networks I have used till date. The main point that Instagram has covered is that it focuses on it’s main domain i.e. images in a very good way and this makes it even more fun to use. I follow almost all the bloggers I know on Instagram and it helps me know them better as a person.

Hi Ileane
No doubt Instagram is the best way to promote your ideas and post but it can’t be compared with Pinterest because the latter has its own effectiveness in terms of online marketing of both products and services.
Thanks a lot for sharing this wonderful tutorial on Instagram which I think is the best one. I also shared it on Facebook because lot of people do want a complete tutorial like this on the topic.

You said it best for me too, “I don’t want you to suffer from social media overload”.

I do take pictures from my phone but I don’t have an Instagram account. That’s another one of those that I heard when people were saying that they had a right to share your photos, etc. Well first off, I’m not a big cell phone user. That’s right, I still have a land line and I don’t use my cell a lot.

I finally did get texting last year and upgraded to an iPhone since it was free at that time. But I’m not on the run a lot, I’m glued to my computer so being out and about a lot taking pictures just isn’t something I do. I take a lot of Kayla, my dog, but that’s mostly for me.

Anyway, the social media overload is just something I don’t want to deal with so there are several platforms I’m not active on because of this. I prefer to stick with my selected few but I know Instagram is a good one and everyone is having a blast with it. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts as well Ileane.

I totally understand! If I didn’t lose my flip phone last year, I had no plans on getting a SmartPhone. It was like “The SmartPhone Gods” wanted me to have this experience because I’m having a ball on Instagram. Basically you would share the exact same images you’re currently posting on Facebook and Google+ because you do a great job with that right now.

If you ever get around to it be sure to let me know so we can connect over there too.

Hello Ileane !!
I find your article very educating, am not that kind of a picture lover anyway, Am new to instagram but almost and always all the time I share my images on pinterest and it is obviously tremendous to share a pic on pinterest. Instagram sounds more like personal than public. thanks for the share !!

Ileane, I read you article few days back and i implemented each and every thing on my instagram account to promote by blog and it turned out to be very beneficial for me and helps alot to get traffic from instagram as well thanks for sharing such useful tips to me

Hi Ileane,
Thanks for this tutorial…
I have heard of Instagram but have recently downloaded it on my mobile. I yet to go through its features either… All I do these days are just uploading pics and liking others pic. Just realised that there are lot more to do other than that.
Thanks

About Ms. Ileane

I'm a blogger, podcaster, YouTuber and social media diva (or Social Media Veteran if you like the way that sounds better). True story: I started blogging by accident when I actually thought I was "subscribing" to my daughter Nicole's first blog. Since then I'm committed to helping others avoid all the mistakes I've made along the way. Get one-on-one coaching and exclusive perks when you join my community on Patreon!Read More…